The Story Of San Michele by Axel Munthe

Axel Munthe devoted his retirement to looking after animals. In his book - The Story of San Michele - he has, near the end of his life a dream. In his dream he has died and is come to Judgement. After hearing much evidence of Munthe's life of debauchery, St Peter is about to condemn him to Hell, when the singing of birds and the barking of dogs is heard. S. Francis, in his ragged brown habit appears, surrounded by a flock of birds and a pack of dogs. `You may be right in all you say about this man,' Francis says, `but he loved animals!' St Peter is instantly disarmed. With a weary gesture he motions Munthe to take the
gate to Heaven. 'Always the same when they have loved animals,' he says, `this pale Umbrian appears with his flock of birds and his pack
of dogs and............well, what can I do?

The 13th Apostle and more

This is an ongoing post, I took out a book from the Library last night 'The 13th Apostle' it is a 'New York Times Bestseller' so I assume this is a good thing. I t is about some lost scrolls and people who want to destroy them for some reason. It made me think how many books are there in circulation with this theme. Obviously 'The Da Vinci Code' , another by Sam Bourne 'The Last Testament' , I am sure there are others which when I find them I will list here.

John McCain is he still alive?

I watched a film by Kurosawa in which the Emperor died and a double took his place it is said John McCain has been trying to look younger on the campaign trail by using a make-up artist named Tiffany who works on “American Idol.” True story, yeah. Tiffany says, “Making John McCain look younger is easy, but what is really hard is making Paula Abdul look sober." This may be true or has John McCain a double is he even still alive? Look at some of his photographs and make up your own mind

From 'POOR BLOGGER'(with apologies) "Hymn to St Michael on this his day from the Carmina Gadelica"

Thou Michael the victorious,
May I travel under thy shield,
Thou Michael of the white steed,
Of the bright and shining steel,
O, Conqueror of the dragon,
Be thou at my back,
Thou ranger of the heavens,
King's warrior, demon's bane.

O Michael the victorious,
My pride and my guide,
O Michael the victorious,
The pride of mine eye.

I travel this an all days,
With Michael as my guide,
On the hill or in the meadow,
Always at his side;
Though I should cross the ocean
The whole of the world
No harm can ever befall me
'Neath the shelter of thy shield;

O Michael the victorious,
Jewel of my heart,
O Michael the victorious,
God's shepherd thou art.

Be the Sacred Three of Glory
At peace with me,
With my wife and with my children,
With flocks and my land.
With the crops growing in the field
Or ripe in the sheaf,
On the machair, on the moor,
In cole, in heap, or stack.

To the Sacred Three of Glory,
Belong everything,
And to Their servant, Michael,
The victorious.

Redding Loaves and Fishes Food Bank - Poverty

I came across this video, it shows the two Americas. Sadly it only had 286 views when I viewed it, when a funny dog can get thousands says plenty about our world.

Labour Boost for Palin

I spotted a report in a blog by someone called Andrew Sparrow on how Hazel Blears( my brother is a bus driver) had attacked the Republican candidate Sarah Palin. I assume her comments were approved by this Sparrow chappy as he gave a rather glowing report on the fact that she had called the politics of Palin 'horrendous'. My only thought on this was any endorsement by a member of the labour party at the present time can only be a positive thing.
Apparently
"Gordon Brown irritated the John McCain campaign recently with the
publication of an article that was interpreted as an endorsement of
Barack Obama." I am sure if Barack reads the opinion polls he will not be happy either.

Episcopal Church Imploding

Here in the UK the goings on in the Episcopal Church appear rather strange. The battles over property would not happen here in the England. The last thing most Bishops would want is to be saddled with an ancient Church. I realise that there is value in church property in the USA that the authorities can sell.
A church that deposes its bishops for sticking to Scripture surely is in a very sad state. See Pittsburgh website 


Anglican Leaders Voice Support for Bishop Duncan — The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh

Also offering support was Archbishop Mouneer Anis of Jerusalem and the Middle East. "It is with great joy that I welcome you alongside the ranks of St. Athanasius who, as Bishop of Alexandria, was deposed and exiled from his see. St. Athanasius did not waver and stood firm. History proved that his stance for orthodoxy was not in vain. I trust it will do the same for you! So please count it as honor my brother."

A Child's Prayer

I came across a blog by a Father Stephen Freeman, in one of his posts there was a delightful prayer by one of his sons. He apparently had a statue of St Michael in his bedroom.

"Dear St. Michael, guard my room.

Don’t let anything eat me or kill me.

Kill it with your sword. Kill it with your sword. Amen."

On the face of it a simple prayer.

TODAY Talk like a Pirate Day

Today apparently is Talk like a Pirate Day. Very weird but fun if you want to join in go to the
The Poopdeck.

The Pope's Toilet - El bano del Papa

A film about a lavatory set up in Uruguay for the Pope's Visit in 1988. This is fiction, but in a Midlothian eco-friendly house which used re cycled items is the real Pope's Toilet when John Paul II visited Scotland.

A Good Night Out

Last night Val and I were take out for a meal by our youngest daughter Caroline. We went to a small village pub called 'The Boot' in a Bedfordshire Village Langford. When we went in to the restaurant. I thought the bar man was familiar, it turned out he had starred in a restaurant reality show on TV. The food was very good with quite a good choice, I hade wild mushrooms on toast for a starter, followed by the days special Lamb Pie, very tasty. Finally the the pudding I chose was absolutely delicious Ginger sponge, baked pear with Lavender Ice cream. An excellent evening in a pleasant atmosphere. 

Reading Motorway Stop - Coffee stop

Last Sunday we stopped at the Reading motorway stop for a caffein fix as we journeyed on to Bedfordshire. Ritazza Coffee sounded good. Big mistake, I think the cup of coffee were were served wa one of the vilest brews I had tasted in a long time. Recently we had thought there had been a big improvement in motorway coffee which in the past has been notoriously bad, but were clearly proved wrong. Has we waited for our £2.05 cup of coffee we watch a blue bottle crawl amongst the uncovered cakes on the coffee bar. When we mentioned this to the girl serving who to be fair did not seem to have much English just smiled and vagualy waved her hand at the offending fly. The thermos flask will be accompanying us on our next motorway journey.

Is Mr Obama Confused?

Is Barack confused about who he really is? Here in the UK one of Tony Blair's advisers said 'we don't do god', when asked about Tony's faith. Possibly Mr Obama needs to take this advise or at least decide which religion he is

Ethiopian orthodox church song

A beautiful song.

Amazing Grace History

Amazing Video!

RHS Rosemoor

We visited the Royal Horticultural Society Garden at Rosemoor, This is well worth a visit. Below is a small snip from a video I made whilst there....

Christian Couple Arrested, Tortured and Threatened Islam the Religion of Peace?

On June 3, a newly converted Christian couple in Iran was arrested by
police for holding Bible studies with Muslims in their home, and
attending a house church. According to Compass Direct News, "Makan Arya
and Tina Rad were seized from their home in east Tehran after one of
Makan's relatives informed security police of the couple's Christian
activities. Their 4-year-old daughter was left behind, ill and
unattended. The couple was taken to an unknown jail where they were
severely beaten and interrogated for four days." Compass reported,
"Makan was accused of 'activities against national security' and Tina
of 'activities against the holy religion of Islam.' The authorities
threatened to take their daughter away to a religious institution and
warned they could be imprisoned on charges of apostasy or fabricated
drug charges if they didn't stop their Christian work." The report
added that eventually the couple was pressured into signing a statement
claiming they had not changed their religion from Islam and promising
that they would stay away from their house church and other Christians.
"After a court hearing, Makan was freed on bail charges of US $19,634
and Tina upon payment of US $29,451. The couple returned home to find
that the window of their shop had been smashed by local Muslims. On
June 23, Makan received a letter threatening him with continued attacks
if he did not put up evidence of his Islamic faith on the front of his
shop, to which he responded by hanging pictures of Muslim leaders on
his window," Compass added. Ask God to strengthen the hearts of these
believers to proclaim His Name without hesitation or fear. Pray for
healing, especially for Tina who currently cannot walk as a result of
her mistreatment in detention. Isaiah 40:29-31

Modesty is the citadel of beauty. Demades

I came across this in the "God's Politics" blog, they forgot to mention his humility!

"Melvin Bray
is a devoted husband, committed father, learner, teacher, writer,
storyteller, lover of people, connoisseur of creativity, seeker of
justice, purveyor of sustainability, and believer in possibilities. As
founder of Kid Cultivators, he lives, loves, works, and dreams with friends in Atlanta, Georgia."
I have read is blog and he is not half as bad as he sounds above.

The True Spirit of the Olympics - Pastor Sentenced to Re-education Through Labour

Pastor Sentenced to Re-education Through Labour

On July 4, Pastor Zhang Zhongxin was sentenced to two years re-education through labor in Jining city in Shangdong province. According to China Aid Association (CAA), "Shandong Re-education-Through-Labor Management Committee issued a written decision sentencing Zhang Zhongxin to two years re-education through labor. Authorities accused him [Zhongxin] of cult participation in the ‘whole scope of the church' organized ‘Sunday school training courses, preaching the gospel to the northwest, Tibet and other places for missionaries and pioneers sermons.'" CAA added that in 2005, Zhongxin established The Rainbow Missions Fellowship and Timothy Bible Training School in Jining city, Shandong province, where Christian leaders are trained. Zhongxin has appealed his sentence.

Sanctus: Breaking News: ++Rowan's Movie Deal

Sanctus: Breaking News: ++Rowan's Movie Deal

This is very cruel.